Ethnic identity in the U.S. and EU reflects the founding principles of the Ottoman Empire

Number 298 | May 3, 2016

During a visit to Istanbul last week, prominent Bulgarian historian Prof. Dr. Stoyan Dinkov stated that the founding principles of the Ottoman Empire have served as an example for the U.S. and EU in their treatment of ethnic identity. Dinkov said that the Ottoman Empire did not discriminate based on ethnic identity and that its citizens had political and economic freedom. Every ethnicity was viewed as equal under the law and each ethnic group was represented in government. In this context, the infrastructure of the U.S. and EU reflects that of the Ottoman Empire.

Dinkov called on all countries involved in WWI, including Armenia, Russia, France, Italy, and England, to open their archives in order to address allegations that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against the Armenians in 1915. "In addition to historians, sociologists and psychologists should also examine the events. We need to see how ethnic identity was formed 20-30 years prior to the events of 1915. Ottoman administration was not based on an ethnic plan. There was not an ethnic distinction. All ethnic identities were considered to be Ottomans, but it was during [the early twentieth century] that individuals began to unite under their ethnic identity."

Dinkov also described consulting the archives of a Russian general, which depicted the events from a new point of view: “This general wrote letters to the Russian Emperor and to the head of the Russian military forces. He reflects on the events in Eastern Anatolia from a different perspective. Turks were never mentioned and the Ottoman government never intervened in these events. Rather, we see the involvement of Kurds, Armenians, and Russians. We see that the Ottoman government never took a management role. We also see that it was Armenians and Kurds who were present where the events took place. These events cannot be attributed to the Republic of Turkey and to the Turks."